Swazi Observer

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MOTHER SIBONGILE

By Thulani Thwala | 2018-08-20

This coming Saturday, gullible emaswati, who around this time of the political calendar get elevated to the status of being voters, will take to the polls.

It is the primary elections where the voters earnestly launch their respective journeys to collectively select a thug to guard their money boxes.

This has become their favourite past time. I am not about to stop them from committing their respective political suicides because of a loaf of bread.

However, I want to tell them one, no make it two, things. There is vast difference between a human being and being human. What normally happens is that as human beings, we like being human unnecessarily at times.

That’s what exactly voters will be doing on Saturday; mixing two toxic substances.

As you take to the polls, give yourselves time and think about the five-year contract you will be issuing to a human being that has the potential of not being human.

Cocky

You will distinguish the difference among the political candidates not by the things they say, but by the things they do in society.

In most instances, the things they say are not who they are in real life. Character is judged by the things we do when thinking no one is seeing us. We have learnt this hard lesson through some of our outgoing cabinet ministers.

I have never seen people who without difficulty learned the silly culture of acting out of character. They are all not who they should be.

Take for instance, the case of Health Minister Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane who unaccompanied, ran down the health system. As she did that, she rebuked any attempts to help.

When the media flags anomalies in your space, you can’t afford to get cocky. It is one form of assistance for the media to raise the flag.

Poor Mother Sibongile, she always thought the media was out to get her. The big question has always been why, what for really?

In the five years in office, Mother Sibongile failed to be what Mother Teresa was. We all know, I am certain we all know, what Mother Teresa did.

Well if you don’t, here is a clue. She did all what Mother Sibongile has failed to do. That is to care for the sick. Our health care system has never been the best but she assisted it straight into the ICU.

Nurses have been spending most time picketing than doing what they are supposed to in protest against shortage of key drugs in hospitals.

Issues

Our egotistical Mother Sibongile buried her face that has put on some weight in the sand as if nothing was happening in hospitals.

As political head of the ministry of health, it should worry her when nurses wipe the only hope on the faces of patients who have been subjected to nurses’ toyi-toying.

Instead, when called for comment on the alleged situation in hospitals by the nurses, she passed the buck. For the first time she referred us to a junior officer.

For some of us who have been around, we know the silly game she was playing. During this time of the political season, no politician wants to comment on issues viewed as toxic and could rub off on them the wrong way.

They play it clean. The country needs direction. Should people stop bothering about going to hospital? Should they start saving for their caskets?

Pity no one will tell us as our minister is worried about a second term. The minister owes us an explanation as to how and why things got to this state.

I am sure she is aware that some of us can move for genocide charges against her if things continue like this. What is happening are preliminaries of genocide.

As things stand, you can't afford to get sick, and also you can't depend on the present health care system to keep you well, never.

It's now up to every individual to protect and maintain his body's natural capacity for health and healing by making the right choices in how you live.

Eswatini’s health care system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and prevention. Not only Mother Sibongile, all previous heads in the ministry ignored prevention.

It is a right, according to myself, to get access to health care as a citizen of this country. I can't show you how, exactly, health care is a basic human right, but I can argue that no one should die of a disease that is treatable.

We pay tax after all. By taxing we have a stake in everything that happens. It’s great pity that Mother Sibongile’s priorities seemed mislaid from the onset.

She spent time pushing for her husband who is a school teacher to come closer to Mbabane. Luckily, she won that battle. Well there was nothing new since we have seen how spouses of cabinet members get to climb the ladder with ease.

Remember Joy, it was after she married well that she got to climb the civil service ladder. We are closely watching Primrose as you read this.

After getting her man secured, the minister spent more time buying matching attires and doing similar hairstyles with her relative Bonisile Mngomezulu.

Talk of a twin problem. If she cared to listen, she would have not run down the health system. Investors come to a country that has strong health care and judicial systems.

Since they will employ people, they want confidence that they would be treated appropriately and if disputes arise, the courts are competent enough.

As things stand, we are doomed. Our judicial system has flue like symptoms and our health care system is in a protracted comma.

Before the minister leaves office, she must have addressed the drugs issue. We cannot go on like this as a country. She must inject some sense into her fellow cabinet ministers to make health a priority. Eswatini is a country because of its people. If we kill them, we are dead as a nation. It’s a pity only the big shots will remain and who is going to do their dirty work? We can’t be buying cars and building houses at the expense of medication for the nation, the taxpayers. Why are we even building a new big hospital when we should be constructing more mortuaries because more people are yet to die?

Dogs are yet to feast on human flesh. Until our leaders realise the bigger problem coming our way, the end begins now.

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